QantasLink officially launches Tamworth Country Music Festival as the event celebrates its 40th anniversary

Sydney | Published on 19th January 2012 at 2:55

QantasLink today joined forces with Tamworth Regional Council to officially launch the nation’s iconic country music event – the 2012 Jayco Tamworth Country Music Festival.

This year’s event will be held in Tamworth NSW between 20 and 29 January 2012.

Marking today’s launch in Sydney, QantasLink unveiled a Q400 aircraft featuring a large golden guitar with the festival’s official 40th anniversary logo.

The special livery will remain on the aircraft for the next 12 months.

Home-grown country music star and festival ambassador Adam Harvey also performed at today’s launch.

QantasLink Executive Manager Narendra Kumar said QantasLink was looking forward to supporting the festival, which has been recognised as one of the top ten music events in the world.

“We are very proud to be the official airline sponsor of this year’s event which celebrates Australia’s country music talent as well as Tamworth as a fantastic regional tourism destination.”

“QantasLink shares a long history with the Tamworth community as it is where we established our operations in 1949.”

“Today QantasLink is one of the region’s largest employers with Tamworth also being home to one of our key regional aircraft maintenance facilities,” he said.

Acting Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, Chris Hartcher MP, congratulated Tamworth Regional Council and QantasLink on a successful partnership that offers visitors a world class tourism and event experience in the heart of regional NSW.

“The NSW Government through Destination NSW is proud to support the Jayco Tamworth Country Music Festival and Awards in 2012.

“Turning 40 is a significant milestone and a major achievement for an event that is acknowledged as one of the top 10 music festivals in the world, once again showing that NSW events are leading the nation.

“The festival is an iconic regional event on the NSW Events Calendar, generating over $20 million in new money for both the State and the local region,” he said.

Mayor of Tamworth Mr Col Murray said Tamworth Regional Council was extremely proud to welcome QantasLink as the official airline partner of the 40th Anniversary Jayco Tamworth Country Music Festival.

“It means a great deal to the people of Tamworth to have an aircraft that promotes our Festival and our region, and shows the strength and commitment of QantasLink to the Tamworth region.”

“If you haven’t been to the Tamworth Country Music Festival before, I urge you to get on qantas.com and book a ticket to Tamworth, because you won’t regret it!” he said.

QantasLink currently operates 32 return services per week to Tamworth with the airline’s Q400 operating 13 of these services.

Background
Established in Tamworth in 1949 QantasLink has grown to become Australia’s largest regional airline. Recently named Air Transport World’s Regional Airline of the Year 2012, QantasLink operates a network of 56 metropolitan and country destinations across all states and territories as well as to Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

QantasLink has significantly invested in the aircraft it operates with its current fleet of 57 aircraft to grow to 62 over the next 12 months. The airline’s fleet includes five Bombardier Q200, 16 Q300, 25 Q400 and 11 Boeing 717 aircraft.

QantasLink is also overseeing the operation of the Qantas Group’s Western Australian based resources charter airline Network Aviation. Its fleet of nine aircraft is set to grow further, with the addition of 10 Fokker F100s this year.